Thursday, February 17, 2011

Anne Sofie Madsen graduated from the Danish Design School in 2009. She mainly uses watercolour, gouache and pencil. Not only is she an incredible illustrator, she's also a wickedly talented designer! Madsen's website is interesting because you can see connections between her illustrations and collections. Each illustration series is an imaginative mix of high-fashion and fairy tale. I especially love 'Blue Ink' where characters seem to have been born in blue and white china skin. Have a look Here.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Im very proud to announce the first show of the year at London Miles- Pens and Needles, a group exhibition celebrating tattoo art, culture and lifestyle. I have been wanting to organize a tattoo show for a long time and decide it was time to do it and a great show to kick off the new year at London Miles.

Heres the info:

Pens and Needles, an art exhibition celebrating all aspects of tattoo art, culture, and lifestyle. The exhibition will feature original artwork, tattoo stencils and photographs from more than 20 top international tattoo artists and photographers. The opening night will be a memorable occasion with live tattooing, DJ’s, and a large-scale installation transforming one corner of the lavish Westbourne Studios into its very own pop-up tattoo parlour.

From pure tattoo sketches to documentary photography and fine art portraiture, Pens and Needles will bring together artists from across the tattoo and contemporary art sectors to shed light on the often-controversial subject of tattoo and body art. With skills not only in the field of body art, many practicing tattoists also work with painterly mediums such as acrylic and oil on more ‘traditional’ canvases. Pens and Needles provides a rare opportunity to view original paintings from a number of high profile tattoo artists from across the globe, all of whom rarely show in a conventional gallery environment. Bringing together these individuals with other artists from across the realms of photography, fine, and contemporary art, Pens and Needles will cover a bit of everything…from artists that love tattoos, to tattoo artists that love painting.

To remind us just how amazing the series was an Art Show has been put together in celebration of the 20 year anniversary....genius!Artists like Scott C, Elizabeth Mcgrath, Stella Im Hultberg, Chris Mars and many more have all taken part in the show and created pieces inspired by the show.There is also the first official product line since "Twin Peaks" left the airwaves 20 years ago, a collection of mugs, t-shirts and limited edition prints designed by David Lynch!!!

Sorry for the late post on this, as the show has already closed but please go and Have a look at the online preview HERE.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Luke Chueh explores his love/hate relationship with the world of contemporary art in his newest exhibition, "Contemptorary Art", opening this Saturday, Feb. 12th, from 7-10PM at Corey Helford Gallery.

The show consists of four series of paintings: THE LABEL SERIES - Luke's interpretation of contemporary artist Barbara Kruger's typographic stylings; THE COMMUNICATION SERIES - Luke's iconic bear head, in Renaissance, Cubist/Modernist and 2 Pop Art variations; THE COLORFIELD SERIES - An exploration of the psychology of color; and THE TEMPLATE SERIES - Six variations of the same image illustrating that "it's not the glass that tells the story, but rather what's in the glass itself." And for attendees TWO BIG SURPRISES - first, each person at the opening will be given a blank template of one of Luke's bear images to fill in with their own imagery and all the work will be on display for four full weeks! Second, a very rare opportunity -- a FREE Luke Chueh mini-giclee to the first 800 GUESTS! Luke's prints are among the most sought-after in the new contemporary art scene and freebies of his work just don't exist - except for this Saturday between 7-10PM.

Alex Young and Scott Move are having a print sale and free art giveaway mash up on Thursday, the 10th of Feb....thats tomorrow. If you know anything about Alex Young then you know this is a rare occassion to get some of his mind twisting illustrations for super cheap, going for only £10.Plus the night will include Free Beer...and we all know what Free Beer in London means, - this is going to get messy!! Just how Alex likes it.

Ill be down there to get my hands on some prints and see how the night turns out, hopefully I come back in one piece as I have heard Alex mention something about mosh pits in the past...

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Two wicked new exhibitions open this friday at the Roq La Rue Gallery. 'Tin Machines and Mercuric Dreams' is a series of new paintings, drawings and sculptures by Brian Despain (below)

Brian Despain works with imaginary yet recognizable modern landscapes, but populates his world with seemingly self aware and melancholy robots. His work blends the natural world with technology with a slightly morbid slant. Skulls, machinery, and birds provide the forefront for a seemingly arcane number system the artist employs in all his work. His rich and luminous color palettes of post apocalyptic ochres, deep blues, and steel greys belie and hidden warmth and dark humor within his work.

The second exhibition is 'the Secret Keepers'- a new series of paintings by Mia Araujo.

Mia Araujo believes that all individuals contain an inner universe within them that is invisible to the naked eye. Her work, which evokes comparisons to art nouveau and often references literary figures, concentrates on giving shape to the unseen forces within her subjects - their thoughts, memories, emotions, and complex histories. These qualities fit together to form a vast, rich inner landscape of identity and mythology for her characters.You can see the whole show Here and it runs from the 11th of February to March 5th at:Roq La Rue Gallery2312 2nd Ave.Seattle, WA 98121

Have a look at this sweet little video catalogue of the artworks from Emilio Subira. The Spanish sculptor/ painter with one crazy imagination. Also one of the artists featured in Hunt and Gather- the art book publication.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Bray creates delicate and time-consuming drawings which explore emotion, utopia and aworld of fantasy through his subject matter of the beautiful and erotic, but the unatainable female form.

In his new solo show Bray is inspired by the record ‘Great Disasters of the Twentieth Century’ by George Lubitzer, on which there is a track called 70 days. “This track inspired me to do a drawing a day for 70 days, whatever style or content of that particular drawing dictated the style or content of the larger drawings - which evolved over the same period of time. Each drawing has a variety of mark making styles within it. The record details the occult, Egyptology, loss, magic and the supernatural - and i have tried to reflect that in the work”

His compelling works reveal his lifetime love of drawing and a very active imagination taking the viewer into his dark, amative world of fantasy. David has also had a successful commercial career since graduating in 1992 from Central St. Martins, in London with a degree in Graphic Design, with work commissioned by clients such as Harvey Nichols, H&M, Canon, Vodafone, BBC Television, Nokia, Puma, Virgin, Sony, Charles Worthington and magazines Elle, Flaunt, The Sunday Times,Time Out and many more.

If you plan on taking a trip to Bangkok and would like to check out some galleries there, then I have a few to recommend. I recently visited Bangkok and was of course on the "hunt" for new art and artists from the region. To my surprise, I discovered an incredible collection of contemporary artists all living and working in Thailand, with very little exposure outside of the country.

One of the galleries helping these artists get exposed is Number One Gallery. They always go the extra mile to make sure the gallery is transformed for each show, putting on some amazing installations. They are located in the Silom Galleria Bld, in Silom. It looks like a shopping complex but its just full of art galleries, from Asian antiques to contemporary findings.

Another Gallery/shop that has some interesting stuff is Art Gorillas in Siam Square. Pathum Wan Bangkok. They have really creative exhibitions, including vinyl toys, installations, amazing paintings and again a nice collection of the artists from Thailand.

A few other galleries to check out are:H Gallery Bangkok - www.hgallerybkk.comLa Lanta - www.Lalanta.com

Its amazing to see an idea you had once actually get used by someone else..sometimes it can piss you off and go "shit they stole my idea!!" or you can just be happy that someone went through with it and actually how good the out come is.. because lets face it....if its a good idea someone will defenitly do it before you or its already been done.

Last year I contacted the New English, an incredible ceramics company in England. I wanted to collaborate with them to produce a limited edition custom designed tea pot and tea cup collection, featuring various artists from the New contemporary art world. I had to hold off on the project and put it on the back burner. So...naturally when doing my weekly hunting for interesting things to post, I found that the great gallery in Berlin, Strychnin Gallery has already done it and the collection

Well ill stop blabbing now, and get to the point. Have a look at some of the incredible tea pots, tea cups, saucers they have created. All for the "THE MAD POTTERS TEA PARTY" exhibition that opens tonight, Friday the 4th of Feb.

Here the details:

STRYCHNIN Gallery and UK ceramic innovators The New English collaborate to bring you custom designed ceramics by over 100 international artists

THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN GRAFFITI (Harper Design; April 2011) is the definitive story behind the most explosive and influential art form of the last one hundred years. Unprecedented in scope, the book traces the evolution of the movement from its early freight train days to its big-city boom on the streets of New York City and Philadelphia to its modern-day influences.

Featuring interviews with more than five hundred key artists and exclusive behind-the-scenes stories gleaned from over four-years’ worth of interviews, THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN GRAFFITI unveils the entire scope of American graffiti history, from forgotten street legends to the present-day stars: from TAKI 183 to IZ THE WIZ to SANE AND SMITH; from Barry “TWIST” McGee to REVOK; and historical figures, including for the first time, the story behind the WWII legend KILROY WAS HERE. Authors Roger Gastman and Caleb Neelon provide an insider’s perspective on the most popular trends and styles that have dominated the scene for the last fifty years, revealing the story behind the culture that spawned today’s street artists.

THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN GRAFFITI is packed with over one thousand photographs—the majority of which have never before been seen—from more than two hundred photographers, most of whom also created the artwork. The authors have spent the better part of the last four years interviewing key figures in the graffiti world throughout America—from the bedrock cities of New York City, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles to more than twenty metropolitan hotspots, including Chicago, Boston, Miami, New Orleans, San Diego, and Seattle. Approximately 90 percent of the art in this book has never been published, and was sourced directly from the artists who lived the scene, giving the book a raw street vibe as authentic as the history it documents.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Forget everything you think you know about tattoo art. For the first UK art exhibition of its kind, London Miles invites a selection of the world’s top tattoo artists, documentarians, and enthusiasts to finally liberate us from the last of those scratched on, fading abominations…our manifesto? No more ‘I LOVE MUM’.

“More and more tattooists are redefining the stereotype of what a tattooed person looks like. The general public is seeing better art more often and, hopefully, aren’t staying blind to the fact they don’t have to pay for bad tattoos.” (Shawn Barber)

Attitudes towards tattoo art and tattooed individuals continue to evolve for the better. Nowadays, it’s getting harder and harder to draw a distinction between fine art and the best of modern tattooing. Doesn’t this then make tattooed individuals the new cultural ambassadors of a truly new and distinctive ‘modern art’?

Much of today’s contemporary and fine art isn't too disparate from that which tattoo artists are creating on skin. Much like their painterly peers, the most accomplished and skilled of tattoo artists assign the same exacting precision to composition, tone, perspective, and conceptual design when producing their own inimitable works of art.

London Miles is to take an in-depth look at all forms of tattoo art, lifestyle, and culture. Featuring original artwork, tattoo stencils and photographs, Pens and Needles brings together artists from across the tattoo and contemporary art sectors to shed light on the entire domain of tattoo art: from artists that love tattoos, to tattoo artists that love painting. Alternatively, the photography of documentarian Estevan Oriol – whose client list includes Eminem, Ludacris, Method Man, and Justin Timberlake – will offer a raw snapshot of Los Angeles street life, one of the world’s most heavily tattooed cities.

The opening night of Pens and Needles will be a unique fiesta of tattoo art with live tattooing taking place in London Miles’s very own pop-up tattoo parlour. The exhibition will document, discuss and most importantly celebrate one of contemporary art’s most burgeoning yet contentious art forms.